Handel: Messiah (CD Review - The Detroit News, 2009)

Here is one of the finest choral performances among the myriad recordings of "Messiah." The choristers glide through Handel's treacherously florid lines with impeccable accuracy, as if in one glistening voice. And these smart soloists sing with a buoyant sense of style. Countertenor Iestyn Davies and soprano Julia Doyle imbue their music with fetching clarity and grace, and tenor Allan Clayton scores his second "Messiah" hit of the season -- here and in EMI's DVD noted elsewhere on this page. Conductor Stephen Layton's poetic phrases and tempos allow the Britten Sinfonia to sparkle. GRADE: A

L.B.J.

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